Friday, August 2, 2013

Unending Journey

Wow! Talk about an unending journey! I've been on the road non-stop since January! It's been tough to get internet connection to upload, so I got a new phone to try and keep up that way- I was actually sketching and working in my sketchbooks as we all went along, In the Garden, In the woods, and now Journey....

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In front of Monets home in Giverney, France 4 weeks ago.

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It was peak season for EVERYTHING! The entire garden was blooming at full potential, it was more like a floral jungle than neatly managed and highly controlled gardens.

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The famous bow bridge...full of peak season tourists! I waited for 20 minutes for the crowd to thin...it never did!

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The colors and shapes, not to mention fragrances, almost made me dizzy. I literally went into a little bit of sensory overload, and have been on FIRE artistically since visiting France. I had been enjoying teaching and having a full schedule, but had been sort of tired in the evenings, and after teaching all day, I would sketch a few minutes and then think-boy, it's not very convienient to make art in a hotel room, I'll just go to bed. Since France, I've been making art EVERY NIGHT, regardless of how full my day has been teaching.

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Some nights, all I can manage is a bit of digital art using some of my original photos.

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I need to be working on packing for an upcoming retreat, but can't seem to drag myself away from the flowers....

These were made on a cold rainy day in a VERY tight and cramped Paris hotel room the day after the Giverney trip. I had waterlillies on the brain, and it just crept out. Though I've been to Giverney before, for some reason this journey seemed to affect my art in a much more visible way. I normally would not work in such subtle and smooth backgrounds, I usually crave very bold graphics. I was pretty excited about these, and threw them on the bed to grab a photo to remember them by, before I wrote on them. (A good idea- photographing stages of your journey!)

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I'm really loving this looser, happier more scribbly style!

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The old boy himself! He always looked so stern in his photos. So I thought I would try and make him happier and looser, to go along with this new style I'm enjoying so much. The Fineliner tool and the Signo Uniball white pens are definitely getting their share of use these days!